Looking to buy...Ebay or Classified? Four Seasons Punta Mita $400K? Rancho Banderas $1?

Why would anyone buy a resale from a classified site such as this one, where prices range from $2000-20,000, when you can buy all the same stuff on Ebay for $1? Many with zero closing costs!

I have heard you can actually get people to pay you for taking over a timeshare...so maybe even Ebay deals aren't that great. Where does one find these negative cash deals? Or are these just the real dogs.

We are looking at Mexico oceanfront...anything special/different to look out for on these foreign deals?

And one last question: who in their right mind is going to pay $400,000 for a timeshare at Four Seasons Punta Mita? What am I missing here? Rancho Banderas just a few miles up the bay is selling for $1.

First off, many eBay listings contain a lot of incorrect and inaccurate information. What you see is often NOT what you get when the underlying details are examined more closely. As always, the devil is in the details. The listing errors may be innocent and not deliberate or intentional (the mistakes are, I believe, often the result of a lot of cutting and pasting of material from one ad into another) --- but wrong information is still wrong information.

Also, most Mexican timeshares are not actual ownerships, but are instead merely "right to use" contracts. All such RTU contracts have specific expiration dates. An RTU contract expiring next year, for example, is worth nearly NOTHING!

I'm not rendering any judgement here on resorts or pricing and I have no interest whatsoever in ANY Mexican resorts. I DO, however, strongly recommend that you exert due diligence before making ANY purchase. Confirm and verify every last fact and ad claim. Make certain that what you THINK you are buying matches exactly ALL the info in every piece of associated paperwork. Good luck. CAVEAT EMPTOR (Buyer Beware).

russ177 wrote:

And one last question: who in their right mind is going to pay $400,000 for a timeshare at Four Seasons Punta Mita? What am I missing here? Rancho Banderas just a few miles up the bay is selling for $1.

For one week of timeshare, they'd have to be out of their minds to pay $400,000 much less one they wouldn't own (all Mexico timeshares are RTU or right to use until a certain date in the future as Ken stated above)..

jayjay wrote:

For one week of timeshare, they'd have to be out of their minds to pay $400,000 much less one they wouldn't own...

For $400,000 one would think you could buy the entire country.

mike1536 wrote:

jayjay wrote:

For one week of timeshare, they'd have to be out of their minds to pay $400,000 much less one they wouldn't own...

For $400,000 one would think you could buy the entire country.

It amazes me that some people will pay $40,000+ for a week of timeshare at higher end resorts such as Marriott, 4 Seasons, Hyatt, Hilton etc.

The most we ever paid for a timeshare was $10,000 ( a gold crown in Kissimmee) from the developer before we found resales and that was VERY extravagant for us. Even if I could afford a $40,000 timeshare, I wouldn't buy it due to the principle of it. I would rent from owners who didn't mind, or were coerced, into paying $40,000+ and more.

The 4 Seasons "Punta Mita" is apparently a "fractional ownership" - is that just a deeded timeshare by another name? For $400K you get 4 weeks I think. They told me there was a waiting list. But get this, the maintenance fee is $17K per year!!!

russ177 wrote:

For $400K you get 4 weeks I think. They told me there was a waiting list. But get this, the maintenance fee is $17K per year!!!

Holy cow .... you dish out $100,000 a week for 4 weeks then pay $17K in yearly maintenance fees. I can't imagine in my wildest dreams buying something like this, EVEN if I had the money. :o) !

russ177 wrote:

For $400K you get 4 weeks I think. They told me there was a waiting list. But get this, the maintenance fee is $17K per year!!!

jayjay wrote:

Holy cow .... you dish out $100,000 a week for 4 weeks then pay $17K in yearly maintenance fees.

This is even pricier than the High Country Club. A "destination club" that charges $80K for it's top membership (5 weeks of vacation) with approx $10K for annual dues.

We actually did buy on eBay. We paid $175 for week 3 in Solana Beach, CA. The seller paid the closing costs. It's a resort that is local to us, so we knew exactly what we were getting. From what I understand our unit was foreclosed on by the resort and sold through a clearing house.

We're quite happy with our purchase. Friends or family can use it when they come to visit or we can trade it.

We own 3 weeks in Mexico. 2 at the Royal Sands in Cancun and 1 at the Royal Haciendas in Playa Del Carmen. They are RTU but we had 50 yrs in each. The Royal resorts run fantastic properties. We also own Marriott timeshares in Aruba also RTU and Hilton Head. The Royal Sands and the Royal Haciendas are really the nicest of the 7 weeks we own. ilene

do you ever rent your properties in mexico? I have a timeshare in mexico and am interested in renting it but am at a loss on where to post the 4rent information...besides on redweek. my target audience would be other mexicans who would like to vacation during holy week...but I'm not sure where to post it for their exposure...Anyone have any ideas? I'm new at this.